First Xiaomi Mi 7 rumors surface - Q1 2018 launch a possibilty

It's been barely five months since the launch of the Mi 6 but rumors of its successor have surfaced already. If these rumors are anything to be believed, the Mi 7, the next-gen device in Xiaomi's premium line, will be coming in Q1 2018. Previous devices in the line were released in Q2, so this would be quite the anomaly. 

Releasing a flagship so early in the year has a number of pros and cons, with the LG G6 being a prime example.

• The G6 was released in Q1, which gave it a sizeable head start on all other flagships.
• This head start meant that it was the only new major flagship on the market for a time, which must have helped its sales numbers.
• Releasing so early also meant it had to be shipped with the Snapdragon 821, a SoC that's last-gen at this point.
• This, in turn, meant that with the advent of flagships powered by the new Snapdragon 835, the G6 was all but spent of its sales power, a phenomenon that resulted in the G6 selling for just over US$400 less than six months after launch.

The Mi 7 may avoid that pitfall, though, as the same source claims that it will be powered by the Snapdragon 845, Qualcomm's next-gen SoC. The same rumor also claims that it will sport a 6" OLED display, which, well, pushes the believability envelope, as previous devices in that line have featured a maximum of 5.15-inch displays.

You'd do well to take this with a pinch of salt; it's still early days yet.